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Eclipse of Dusk
By: Hseru
Warnings: Shounen ai later on 1x2 3x4 5x? (poor Wuffers)
Disclaimer: I own not Gundam Wing, but I do own the world the G-boys traverse. Fear my god power.
Chapter 5
Looking into the heart shaped face framed with chestnut hair, Wufei's curiosity was peaked at the young man's presence in the lair of a dragon. His clothes, such as they were, were tattered, and just enough to afford the unconscious youth a bit of modesty. Around his neck, was a thick, heavy iron collar that had severely abraded the pale skin beneath it, causing the flesh to become red and inflamed, possibly even so far as to leave scars.
Other than the hurts caused by the collar though, there were no other apparent wounds on the youth, not even bruising, and that puzzled the dark warrior even more.
Glancing around at the elves surrounding him, he easily picked the youth up, as he weighed near nothing, and waited for them to proceed. Trowa moved over to him.
"Are you sure this is wise?" The elf asked quietly. "You do not know why he is here. Moving him could have dire consequences."
Wufei shrugged off Trowa's warning.
"I'm not leaving him here in this place." He replied gruffly, angling a glare at the elf, who backed off the subject.
After a quick, yet thorough search of the interior cavern, the elves moved back from the dank place, wanting to be gone before the absent dragon decided to come back with them unawares inside its lair. It would doubtless know they had been there, but that could not be helped at the moment. It was more of a risk to be caught still inside when the beast returned.
Upon reaching the free clean air of the open world again, the elves stopped momentarily to allow their eyes to readjust, then set to the long climb back down.
Now, Wufei stopped to wonder just how he was going to get the youth down the cliff face, when Trowa approached him with the answer, and a length of rope. Strapping the youth's body to his own, Wufei paused long enough to pray to his god that the youth did not wake before they reached bottom. A flailing body could make climbing difficult, to say the least.
...
From their vantage point, the other half of the war party could see the group making their way carefully back down the cliff face. The addition to their number was all too evident, and they waited patiently to find out what had transpired within the crevice.
It took them all of half an hour to reach the bottom again, thankfully, with no mishaps.
Moving quickly over the open ground, they met up with those who'd not gone. Saving their questions for later, the reunited group loped back to where the horses and Illians were, Wufei continuing the carry the boy on his back, as it seemed easiest.
The long haired youth was an object of obvious speculation when they reached the area they'd tethered the mounts in. Wufei gave the care of him over to the sensitive Quatre, who would be able to tell if there were any internal injuries, and heal them if so.
Both Heero and Milliardo approached the dark haired swords master at the same time after that, not wishing to wait further for their answers.
"What happened?" Heero got out first.
Wufei eyed him. "The dragon wasn't there. He was all we found." He said simply, tossing his head in the direction of the young man in the little mage's care. Nodding, Milliardo moved to one of his own warriors to get a more detailed description of the interior of the cavern, while Heero and Wufei moved over to where Quatre was tending the boy.
Heero's first impression was of a skinny, longhaired youth with a collar about his neck, looking to be no more than the age of fifteen summers or so, but his soldier's eye picked out various smaller details that proved otherwise.
Despite being small, the youth had a lean instead of a scrawny body, well toned muscles that were lax at the moment, yet looked to be quite lithe. Under the dirt, pale skin that had a slight olive coloration to it meant he was Eastern, perhaps from one of the many cities bordering the routes. They were known to traffic slaves, and it was actually a highly profitable business there.
Slight creases in his face spoke of abundant smiling, and an age closer to their own instead of his visually apparent age. The collar looked like it would cause a terrible amount of pain, but this too he catalogued away with the other information gathered for future research.
"Is there anything wrong with him?" Wufei asked, the first to inquire.
Quatre shook his head, letting his hands down from where they had been extended over the youth, magically examining him for injuries.
"Not that I can tell." The mage began, seemingly perplexed. "I've tried to revive him, but there's something blocking my powers." His eyes suddenly narrowed perceptively, an uncharacteristic thing to see the blond do.
"It's that collar..." He said, reaching for it. As soon as he touched it though, he jerked his fingers back, hissing in pain. Wufei knelt beside him.
"What is it? What happened?" He asked impatiently. Quatre showed him his hand, which had turned red and blistered at the points where contact had been made. Both Heero and Wufei blinked at the wounds. Muttering a spell under his breath, Quatre returned his burnt fingertips to normal, watching the new skin grow with a morbid fascination, and glad that such a small thing required nothing of him.
"It's spelled...against spells." He said after he'd finished, throwing a glance up and down the boy's body. "I can't touch it, and it keeps my magic from doing anything to him, good or bad." He drew back, sitting cross-legged beside the unconscious youth, absently biting his bottom lip.
"I've never seen anything like this....it's almost like it sucks up any magic that comes in contact with it." He glanced up and behind him to the others. "I suspect that it's not coming off without the builder saying so."
"Or his master for that matter." Wufei added darkly.
Both Heero and Quatre nodded in response.
By this time, the elves were ready to be off. Milliardo once more came over to them.
"We're ready to go." He said. "Have you found out anything about the boy?"
Heero shook his head. The elf looked askance at the youth, then back at the cobalt eyed soldier.
"What are you going to do with him? One who was found inside a dragon's lair is not really an individual we would want traveling with us."
"We're not leaving him here." Quatre began.
"Even if we simply deposit him in the nearest town, that would be better than leaving him to the dragon." Wufei spoke up, surprisingly ardent on the subject. "He's apparently run away from somewhere, and getting away from slavery only to end up being killed by a dragon is not something I wish to contemplate for anyone."
The elf looked like he was about to argue, but then shrugged lightly.
"So be it. The consequences are on your heads."
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Weee!! Fifth and still going strong ^_^
On a darker note, my next chapter may take more than the two to three days I have tried to keep between posting up chapters, or it may not. If so, I apologize in advance, and beg for your understanding.
On a lighter note, I'm beginning that same chapter even as I post up this one.
Review, Review!!